A new study shows the antipsychotic drug Risperidone doesn't help Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The Stars and Stripes reports that for years, doctors have been prescribing Risperidone off-label for PTSD sufferers, even though the FDA has approved the drug only for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Physicians were under the impression the drug worked to alleviate PTSD symptoms, but the new study shows it offers the same relief as a placebo.
According to the New York Times, doctors have grown comfortable prescribing Risperidone and other antipsychotic drugs to veterans with PTSD:
Earlier research estimates that one in five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD.
Dr. John H. Krystal, director of the clinical neuroscience division of the Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD, was in charge of the research. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
